Bears, Urlacher part ways over contract

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Chicago is parting ways with veteran linebacker Brian Urlacher after 13 years.

Bears general manager Phil Emery said Wednesday that the team couldn't agree on a contract with Urlacher, for years the heart and face of the franchise. He is now a free agent after missing the last four games of the season because of a hamstring injury.

Cincinnati rookie linebacker Vontaze Burfict earned the top amount in the NFL's performance-based pay program, nearly $300,000. The program compensates players for playing time that far exceeds their salary levels. More than $110.7 million will be distributed to players for their 2012 performances.

CBSSports.com and NFL Network reported that free-agent safety Ed Reed said he is on the verge of becoming a Houston Texan. CBS reported a deal was in place.

Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said Robert Griffin III is “ahead of schedule” in his return from knee ligaments surgery. Shanahan says that “if hard work has anything to do with it,” Griffin will be ready for the coming season.

COLLEGES: Three join with new Big East

The reconfigured Big East officially got three new members — Butler, Creighton and Xavier — and will start play next season with its tournament at Madison Square Gardena and a lucrative broadcasting contract from Fox.

The reworked league, put together after a split with the old Big East was completed earlier this month, will feature the so-called Catholic 7 schools from the old conference plus the three new arrivals.

CBS Sports.com and The Post-Standard of Syracuse are reporting Syracuse is under investigation for possible NCAA violations, mostly in its basketball program, for at least a year. CBS Sports.com reported the school has received a letter of preliminary inquiry from the NCAA. The Post-Standard reports NCAA investigators have been conducting interviews with Syracuse employees and former employees. The newspaper reports the investigation includes the handling of center Fab Melo's academic eligibility.

The Mountain West and ESPN reached agreement on a seven-year deal that will give the network rights to televise some football and men's basketball games, plus all Boise State's home football games. The deal runs from the 2013-14 season to the 2019-20 season.

Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, 73, is stepping down to become special assistant to the president. Moore, who recently was hospitalized for pulmonary problems, said the move is “due to factors related to my health.”

Tulsa hired of Derrick Gragg, who was the AD Eastern Michigan for seven years, as the new athletic director. He replaces Ross Parmley, who was suspended in November and fired Dec. 4 after he was identified as an “admitted gambler” in court documents that are part of a federal investigation.

BITS & PIECES: Turin samples to be retestd

With the eight-year deadline approaching, the IOC will retest doping samples from the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin in a bid to catch any drug cheats who escaped detection.

IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist told The Associated Press on Wednesday that samples will be retested with more advanced techniques to search for banned substances that couldn't be found in 2006.

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